Identifying the perfect on-paper candidate for any role is a critical step in the hiring process. Of course, it’s just the first one. The trickier maneuver for a hiring manager is often background verification. Why? Because that piece of paper describing a potential hire – the traditional resume – is designed to tell employers exactly what they want to hear. Candidates will always look for a leg up in the hiring race, so it makes sense that any employee-created profile would paint that candidate in the most favorable light. Sometimes even embellish. Occasionally, outright falsify. Vetting that profile, following up on a candidate’s job references and confirming resume claims is all part of the process for a hiring manager. But a talent cloud makes that process easier and more reliable.

PeopleCaddie is already a step ahead, having already developed that technology. A third-party talent cloud that manages candidate profiles, employment history and job references, PeopleCaddie doesn’t just take the heavy lifting off the shoulders of a human resources department – it also delivers more accurate and valuable information about job candidates in a fraction of the usual time.

Consider the usual slog through a pile of resumes. Even after exhaustively reviewing each profile and plucking the best candidates from the stack, there’s still the matter of confirming credentials, lining up phone calls and having conversations with other busy professionals – some of them even competitors – who aren’t necessarily ready to speak cogently and in thoughtful detail about an employee who is no longer with the company, if their company policy doesn’t prohibit them from saying anything at all.

A talent cloud cuts through this laborious ritual, soliciting employee ratings and reviews from a comprehensive list of past employers, completed on their time. The design is superior to previous job reference practices because it ensures a higher quality and quantity of information, along with a level of credibility – as information provided by the candidate can quickly be digitally cross-referenced –- that can’t be assured through a traditional  resume. 

Imagine hearing opinions from every previous manager of a contractor, not just the former employers a candidate has shared as contacts in their resume. As a hiring manager, you’re looking for the full scope of a candidate’s experiences – good, bad and in between. What are the common themes that can be found across multiple reviews? Which skills or characteristics are mentioned most often? In the same way a diner can use Yelp to learn about a restaurant’s food, customer service, prices and more, a hiring manager can get a quick read on a contractor or drill down for more granular information, gathered by invested reviewers.

And, yes – these reviewers are invested. Because a talent cloud like PeopleCaddie is a shared candidate pool, it’s in the best interests of employers to be considerate, honest and thorough in their reviews, with the expectation that others will be as well. Crowdfunded employer opinions offer a far wider range of feedback than the average resume, and the information they provide is often more incisive. Think about it: What could be more telling than an open-ended review from a former supervisor, with no agenda beyond contributing to the robustness of a shared talent cloud?

Hiring managers don’t always know the best questions to ask a former employer about a candidate, nor do they have much time during a quick phone call to probe for more revealing details. PeopleCaddie incentivizes employers to be purposeful in their reviews of former contractors, cutting directly to what they perceive to be key information. They can highlight pertinent strengths and weaknesses and include important project work. No awkward phone call, no on-the-spot conversation. Just the flexibility of time and benefit of the written word to ensure a mindful, complete review.

A talent cloud doesn’t make the hire – and that’s as it should be. Ultimately, you’re the best judge of a candidate for a role at your company. But by empowering a hiring manager with smarter, more comprehensive contractor information, a partner like PeopleCaddie can supercharge the quality and speed of your decision-making process while bringing you the peace of mind that you’re always connected to the best contractors available.

Interested in learning more about the PeopleCaddie talent cloud? Contact us!